Tauruba Community on the Rigo Coast, Central province was declared an Open Defecation Free Community, on Friday October 15th but there is one element of the WASH equation missing.
The community needs consistent water supply to make toilets that are at the standard that the ODF program requires.
Anis Foundation, as the implementer of the ODF further assured Tauruba Community that it will assist in bringing in the water supply to make the toilets international standards.
Chief Executive Officer Sil Poi encouraged the people by saying, “Our only school will now has international standard toilets, meaning that they will have flush toilet. They will have VIP safe toilet facility, which we have already constructed. Now we are working around the clock to construct water facility and then connect it to the school. So your school will have water available for this school. That means that your children are well covered when they are in class.”
However when the children go back to their homes they are not covered. Therefore, the communities are also included in receiving the VIP toilets.
“And now you have done that and we are going to declare this community as Open Defecation Free Community,” Poi added.
Poi further encouraged the people to practice proper hygiene in order to live a long life.
“We’re supposed to be living 80 years and 100 years. Bible says by reason you will live 100 years, by reason means by practice, by behavior. That is why we are saying, adapt to the change that we brought, and introduced. Accept this change and make it your business to wash your hands,” He continued.
So much for emphasizing on keeping hands and body clean by washing, the fact remains that many communities in Rigo and Central Province lack potable water.
People of Japan through the funding that they made available, UNICEF they made a decision that we should provide water, as least one water facility for 25 communities. Anis Foundation will build a dam from the water that runs next to the village and will pump this water to a common tank in the village and make it available here,” Poi said.
There are many communities, who do not have clean, safe water and Tauruba Community is privileged to have such assistance from outside.
